Primary-Secondary Snapshot Synchronization for Faster Cyber Recovery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing disaster recovery methods in data storage systems face challenges in minimizing data transmission delays and operational disruption during recovery, particularly when synchronizing snapshots across storage arrays.
Innovation Solution
The method involves generating non-consistent snapshots on a primary storage array and consistent snapshots on a secondary storage array, linking these snapshots to staging volumes, and performing differential synchronization to resolve inconsistencies, thereby reducing the data required to be transmitted and minimizing disruption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If synchronous replication is used to maintain availability of host application data, then failover capability is improved, but IO latency increases and high performance components are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the replication process into two modes: synchronous replication for critical data protection and asynchronous replication for general data synchronization. This allows the system to maintain failover capability for essential data while using less demanding asynchronous replication for other data, thereby reducing overall IO latency requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different replication quality levels to different data. Critical data receives synchronous replication with high consistency, while non-critical data receives asynchronous replication with lower consistency requirements. This local differentiation allows the system to achieve reliable failover for essential data without the performance penalty across all data.
2Speed
If asynchronous replication is used to reduce IO latency, then data transmission speed is improved, but consistency between primary and secondary replicas deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary actions by creating snapshots of data before asynchronous replication. These snapshots serve as baseline versions that can be used for recovery without requiring continuous synchronization. The system accumulates changes from the snapshot point forward and transmits them asynchronously, maintaining speed while ensuring consistency through the snapshot foundation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses snapshots as copies of data at specific points in time. These snapshots provide a consistent baseline that can be recovered independently, while asynchronous changes are applied as deltas. This copying approach allows fast asynchronous transmission while maintaining data consistency through the snapshot reference point.
3Reliability
If full data synchronization is performed during disaster recovery, then data completeness is improved, but recovery time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the necessary data for recovery by using snapshots as the baseline and transmitting only the delta changes that occurred after the snapshot. This extraction approach ensures data completeness for the recovery point while significantly reducing the volume of data that needs to be transmitted and processed during recovery operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary snapshot creation before disaster recovery is needed. These pre-created snapshots serve as the recovery foundation, eliminating the need to transmit and reconstruct entire datasets during actual recovery events. This preliminary action dramatically reduces recovery time while maintaining data completeness through the snapshot-plus-deltas approach.
4Manufacturing precision
If consistent snapshots are generated on primary storage array, then data consistency is improved, but operational disruption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs snapshot creation as a preliminary action that can be scheduled during maintenance windows or low-activity periods. By preparing snapshots in advance, the system can perform recovery operations without disrupting normal operational workflows. The snapshot is created once and reused for multiple recovery scenarios, eliminating the need for repeated disruptive operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses snapshots as immutable copies of data at a specific point in time. Once created, these snapshots can be referenced for recovery without requiring active modification or disruption to the primary storage array. The copying approach allows data consistency to be achieved through the snapshot reference point rather than through active synchronization during operations.
Data Source
AI summary
Recovery of a primary image is facilitated by using non-consistent snapshots on a primary storage array and consistent snapshots on a secondary storage array to avoid the need to transmit entire secondary replicas from the secondary storage array to the primary storage array. Non-consistent snaps of the primary replicas are generated by the primary storage array. Consistent snaps of the secondary replicas are generated by the secondary storage array. The primary replicas are recovered by linking non-consistent snaps to primary staging volumes, linking consistent snaps to secondary staging volumes, synchronizing the primary and secondary staging volumes, and using the synchronized primary staging volumes to recover the primary replicas.